NEW DELHI: Dhiraj Bommadevara, the only Indian recurve archer to have grabbed a quota place at the Paris 2024 Olympics so far, believes India has strong prospects for medals in Paris. He also mentioned that the archers consistently strive to secure the team quota.
Bommadevara was part of a troika that scripted history at the Archery World Cup Stage 1 earlier this week in Shanghai, winning gold medal in the World Cup after 14 years. He won a second World Cup medal when he teamed up with Ankita Bhakat to win the bronze in the mixed team event, beating Mexico in straight sets.
"Chances are pretty high. We are trying hard to convert the individual quota into a team quota, so we are working consistently towards it, planning for it and taking part in as many tournaments as possible. Our first priority is to get the team quota. We will go to Paris 2024 with a simple mindset just to give our best. The rest is not in our hands. No expectation on results. We have to be prepared for everything and perform accordingly," Bommadevara, who won a team silver at the Hangzhou Asian Games, told SAI Media.
The Indian men’s recurve team of Dhiraj, veteran Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Ramesh Jadhav defeated Korea in the title round to reclaim the recurve gold after 14 years. The last time Indian men won an archery World Cup gold medal was in Shanghai in 2010.
When asked about clinching a historic gold after 14 years at the World Cup Stage and team’s mindset during the final shoot-off against Korea, he said "We all feel happy. The plan, the mindset we all had, got executed and we maintained that till the end."
"Our mindset was to just focus on our game and not to focus on our opponents. We had a tunnel-vision focus. Be it in any situation, rain or wind, we wanted to keep the communication among us going. That we kept on till the end," he added.
The 22-year-old archer was the youngest in the history-making team in Shanghai, "I know I can learn a lot from my team members and it’s only about how much I get to learn. The biggest learning is not to repeat the same mistake twice," said the archer.
"Nobody in the men’s team has much experience like him. It’s a big learning process for the team whatever Tarun bhaiya (Tarundeep Rai) shares. That helps us a lot from a tactical or a philosophical standpoint. He also has experience of adapting to every situation and we get to learn a lot from that. Tarun (bhaiya) also pushes himself daily to fight against young archers of my age. Seeing the dedication of a senior archer motivates us a lot," he further said.
Reflecting on the failure to win an Olympic medal despite so much World Cup success, Bommadevara said, "Our archers who have competed at the Olympics before have shown dedication and no doubt they have put in their best effort. When we don’t get a medal, of course, everyone feels bad, the ones playing as well as the ones watching. The ones who feel the worst are the ones who had dedicatedly put in the hard work."
Talking about his transitioning from the Khelo India Scheme to the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), said he didn't have to worry about financially supporting his unemployed parents, thanks to the stipend from the TOP scheme.
"From 2017 to 2020 I was in the Khelo India scholarship scheme. One year later, I got into TOPS. After I got into TOPS, and secured a solid base in my career, I kept receiving financial support that helped me and my family. I didn’t need to focus on how to financially help my unemployed father and mother. It was all taken care through the stipend from the TOP scheme. I wasn’t stressed about any other thing. It helped me to just focus on my game and my performances," said Bommadevara.
The compound archer swept the team events in Shanghai World Cup, winning gold in men's, women's and mixed-team events. Moreover, Jyothi Surekha Vennam won the gold medal in the women’s individual compound category and Priyansh bagged silver men’s individual.
He signed off by praising the compound team's performance, "Our compound team is the best in the world. Its performance helps us push ourselves. Both the compound bow and the recurve bow competitions are equally tough. How Jyothi (Surekha) didi handles her pressure in various categories – individual, mixed or team event – is really commendable and inspiring."